


Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

by Moon_Called



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Christmas Eve, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Holidays, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-04-04 09:33:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14017350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moon_Called/pseuds/Moon_Called
Summary: An AU story in which Captain Cragen refuses to sign Dani Beck's transfer request and she stays in SVU.Dani returns to SVU on Christmas Eve after a month of Administrative leave.  She learns that Detective Elliot Stabler's divorce was finalized the day before and he is emotionally wounded.  Dani stops by Elliot's apartment to offer comfort.





	Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> **(1)** This is my _**2006 "Silver Bells & Gold Shields" Christmas Challenge Story.**_ The story prompt was Wish# 3. The wisher, **Rlynnske** , requested a Dani Beck/Elliot Stabler story with no Olivia Benson or Stabler children; a bit of angst; signs of affection rather than nothing but the sex (though sex was definitely okay); a perp slam if possible; the key words _Tough and Sexy_ ; and **Rileyc** added a stipulation that Detective Dani Beck remained in SVU.
> 
>  **(2)** Originally posted at my **Draoi_Mistress** Live Journal Blog on January 21, 2007.
> 
>  **(3)** I used the Season 2 episode _Pique_ to establish a time-line for the Stabler marriage. In the _Pique_ episode, Stabler told Mayberry he had been married for 16-years. The episode aired on May 4, 2001, so in November 2006 the Stablers would have been married for 21-years.
> 
>  **(3)** I was really into writing stories around song lyrics at the time this challenge story was written. 
> 
> **Credits and Disclaimers:**
> 
>   **(1)** All characters and images associated with _Law & Order: Special Victims Unit_ belong to Dick Wolf and NBC/Universal. This story is for fun, not profit. No harm is intended.
> 
>  **(2)** The song _Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas_ was published in 1943; words by Ralph Blane, music by Hugh Martin. Lyrics used for no profit, entertainment only.

 

"Dani, do you know why you’re here?”  
  
“Yeah,” she replied, her fingers toying with the ring on the chain around her neck. “Cragen said I had to see you before he’d consider signing off on my transfer request.”  
  
George Huang smiled and nodded. “Yes, but that’s the condition for your sessions with me, not the reason.” When she remained silent, he tried a different approach. “Why are you requesting a transfer out of Special Victims?”  
  
She watched the falling snow beyond the windowpane and heard Elliot’s voice in her head. _”Dani, I can’t. You’ve got to be here for yourself, not for me.”_ She licked her lips and turned her head back towards Huang. A single tear ran down her cheek. “Because … because I can’t handle the victims. I need to fix them, but I can’t. Seeing them, knowing what they’ve been through, what they’ve suffered is like a knife in my chest.” She rubbed her sternum and then turned again to look out the window.  
  
“Are you talking about Eden?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
Huang noted her body language—the closed posture of crossed legs and left arm hugging her trunk; however, he particularly noted how her right hand grasped the ring around her neck. He wondered if she was even aware of the action.  
  
He had read her N.Y.P.D. jacket and pre-academy psych evaluation in preparation of their first session. Daniella “Dani” Karin Beck … third in her class at the academy … daughter of Brigitte and Nils Beck … born in Copenhagen, Denmark … six brothers, no sisters … studied criminology in France and Germany … fluent in Danish, German, English, Swedish, French and Italian …met and married U.S. marine sergeant Michael Dooley in 1992 while he was stationed in Germany and returned with him to the States in 1994 … both entered the academy … obtained her gold shield in March 1999 … husband killed in the line of duty on November 28, 2002 … no children … transferred from Burglary to Warrants in June 2003 … eight excessive force complaints … transferred to Manhattan SVU ‘on temporary loan’ from Warrants in September 2006 … requested for permanent assignment to Manhattan SVU by Captain Donald Cragen on November 21, 2006. Her psych evaluation depicted her as an over-achiever with a need for order, a slight disregard for authority figures, and a propensity for taking risks.  
  
“How do you feel about what Eden did?”  
  
She looked at him, her eyes dark with anger. “That little girl’s sick. She’s not responsible for her actions.”  
  
“Dani, you’re not responsible either. You didn’t abandon her or emotionally abuse her.” He leaned forward in his chair. “Sometimes people are damaged beyond our ability to help them, no matter what we do.”  
  
“Eden wasn’t born damaged.”  
  
“None of us are born emotionally damaged.” Huang’s eyes followed her hand as she brought the ring up to her lips—a testament to her own damage. “This time of year must be hard for you.” He got up and poured her a glass of water.  
  
“Thanks.” Dani took a long swallow from the glass and then rolled it back and forth between her palms. “The first year was the hardest.” She sat the glass down on the table next to her chair. “I was numb for three months after Mike died.” She licked her lips. “His mother was so mad at me. She’d been after us to have kids.” She paused and rubbed her forehead. “We never told her that I couldn’t have any.”  
  
“Do you have any family here? Any close friends?”  
  
“My family is in Europe. My parents wanted me to move back to Denmark after the funeral … but I just couldn’t. And yeah, I’ve got a few good friends here ... men and women.”  
  
Huang was struck by the profound sadness in her voice. “The loneliness has been hard for you, hasn’t it?”  
  
Dani looked down at her hands. “Yeah … it has.”  
  
“Have you been intimate with a man since your husband’s death?”  
  
She brushed two fingertips gently across her lower lip. “No.”  
  
“You’re a healthy, vibrant woman, Dani. After four years, it’d be perfectly natural for you to be attracted to another man.” Huang noted her blush. “Are you attracted to someone?” Her blush deepened.  
  
“I never expected to feel it again, you know? That desperate need for a good fuck with someone you really care about … the intense need to make love with someone to the point where touching their soul makes you cry.” She toyed with the ring again. “I was 22 when I married Mike, and there wasn’t anybody else before him. Not that I didn’t kiss and fool around with the boys I dated. But it was pretty much all petting until I met Mike.”  
  
Huang raised an eyebrow. “That’s very novel behavior, considering you were raised in Copenhagen.”  
  
That drew a smile from her. “We’re Catholics, Doc. Believe it or not, there’re about 35,000 of us in Denmark. Besides, I got four older brothers and two younger brothers. By the time I started dating, I knew just about everything a guy would do and say to get inside a girl’s pants. And my brothers made sure I knew how to protect myself, too, just in case a boy I was dating forgot the meaning of the word _no_.”  
  
“Do you feel any guilt over the need to be intimate with someone again?”  
  
Dani shook her head. “No, not guilt—more like, surprise. Does that make sense?” She toed off her shoes and curled her legs beneath her in the chair. “But it doesn’t matter. He doesn’t want me.”  
  
“But he’s rekindled your sexual desire. How do you deal with that?”  
  
“I kick-box,” she shrugged, “I do a lot of over-time.”  
  
“And … anything else?”  
  
Dani rolled her eyes at him. “Geez, Doc!” Then in answer to his unspoken question she admitted, “Yes, I masturbate.”  
  
Huang nodded, trying to hide his smile. “And since this other man isn’t available, you think of Mike during those moments, don’t you?”  
  
“Yeah, I do. I think about Elliot all the time.”  
  
“It’s normal for you to … excuse me, what did you say?”  
  
Dani gave him a bemused look. “I said I think about Mike all the time.”  
  
  
* * * * *  
  
Dr. Huang sat quietly and watched Detective Stabler prowl the length of his office. The man's body language was taunt and coiled with deadly energy waiting to be released. His eyes were narrowed and predatory. His look was dark and intense. Unfortunately, Huang had seen it all before.  
  
“Elliot, why did Captain Cragen ask you to see me today?”  
  
The detective glared at Huang. “You know damn well why he sent me here!”  
  
“Yes, but I’d like you to tell me.”  
  
“Look, Doc, don’t play me. The last time I,” he made quotation marks with his fingers, “talked to a department shrink I almost lost my job!”  
  
“I’m not your enemy, Elliot. I’m only trying to help you.”  
  
“I slammed a perp against a wall in the interrogation room, okay! Satisfied?”  
  
“I thought you’d gotten control of your anger. You’ve seemed so much better over the past two months. What’s changed?”  
  
Instead of answering, Stabler sat down in the chair. He leaned over, rested his elbows on his knees, and rubbed his face with his hands.  
  
Huang tried a different approach. “I understand that you’ve recently signed your divorce papers. How does that make you feel?”  
  
“How in the _fuck_ do you think it makes me feel?”  
  
“I don’t know, Elliot. Abandoned, lost, betrayed, lonely?”  
  
“Cheated. I feel cheated.” Elliot slid his hands below his eyes and looked at Huang. “I thought I’d be married until one of us died. I took my marriage vows seriously. I took our commitment to each other seriously.”  
  
Huang nodded. “And your wife didn’t?”  
  
Elliot was back up and pacing. He made a sweeping motion with his left hand. “You tell me.”  
  
“Vows, duty, and honor are very important to you, aren’t they?”  
  
“Yeah, I guess.”  
  
“You’ve been separated from your wife now for nearly three years. How are you handling the sexual tension?”  
  
The detective paused and glanced at Huang. He sidestepped the unspoken question and said, “I hit the gym a lot more than I used to. I do a lot of over-time.”  
  
“You’ve had two female partners, so I won’t ask if you’ve been emotionally intimate with another woman during your marriage.” Stabler made an ‘okay’ motion with his head. “But have you been sexually intimate with another woman?”  
  
A flush climbed slowly up Elliot’s neck. “No.”  
  
“You’ve been attracted to other women though, haven’t you?”  
  
“I was married, Doc—not dead.”  
  
Huang smiled. “When will your divorce become final?”  
  
“December 23, 2006.”  
  
Huang watched him for a moment. “That was yesterday.”  
  
“No shit.”  
  
“So soon?”  
  
“A Conversion _No Fault_ divorce, Doc. After I signed the separation agreement a year and a half ago, I didn’t fight her on anything else. We were legally separated for more than a year, we agreed on joint custody, and there was no way she wasn’t keeping the house with the kids. It only took 30-days for a judge to look it over and sign the final decree once I signed and Kathy filed.” He plopped back down in the chair and rubbed his forehead. “30-days. Un- _fucking_ -believable.”  
  
“And how do you feel about your wife now?”  
  
“We were married for 21-years and she’s the mother of my children." Elliot turned his head and watched the falling snow. “A part of me will always love Dani.”  
  
Huang nodded. “That’s a very natural response … excuse me? What did you say?”  
  
The detective gave him one of his ‘are you crazy or just stupid’ looks. “I said I’ll always love Kathy.”  
  
“I see.” Huang crossed his legs and rested his chin in his hand. “Elliot, how would you describe Detective Beck?”  
  
Stabler stood with his back to the window in a wide-leg stance with his arms crossed over his chest. “Where the hell did that come from?”  
  
“Just, humor me, okay? What was she like as a partner?”  
  
“She was great. Professional … she earned my trust. We complimented each other’s style.” He smiled. “And man could she wield that damn impact baton.”  
  
“And how would you describe her as a woman?”  
  
Elliot narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”  
  
“Is she someone you would be attracted to?”  
  
“She’s tough, sexy, smart, and beautiful.” He shrugged his shoulders. “What’s not to like?”  
  
  
* * * * *  
  
Don Cragen stared down at the transfer request on his desk. He rubbed his eyes and then cupped his head in frustration. Detective Beck had given him the request two days before Thanksgiving. He’d ordered her to take a month off with pay and to schedule several visits with George Huang to try to work through the trauma from her ordeal with Eden. Despite her adamant assurance that she wouldn’t change her mind about a transfer, he had refused to sign the request. The wise thing to do might be to approve the request and let her leave Special Victims, but he just wasn’t sure that wisdom was the right path to take in this situation.  
  
He moved to his office doorway and looked out into the squad room just as Dani entered. He watched with interest as the other detectives paused in decorating the Christmas tree to greet her. He smiled as she endured their boisterous pats while making her way to his office, avoiding several less-than-subtle attempts to maneuver her underneath a sprig of mistletoe along the way. He stepped aside when she reached his office and then closed the door behind her.  
  
“Where’s Elliot?” Dani asked, looking over her shoulder at the empty desk across from hers.  
  
“He’s working a case with Fin. Have a seat, Detective.” The captain sat down and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk. “So, how are you doing?”  
  
“Better, thanks. The sessions with Huang helped.”  
  
“I’m glad to hear it, because I’ve decided not to approve your request for transfer.” Cragen picked up the form and ripped it in half. “You’re a good detective, and I can’t afford to lose you.”  
  
Dani looked at him in shock. “Captain, I can’t do this.”  
  
“I think you can. Just as long as you remember that our job is not to fix the victim. Our job is to stop the batterer, the rapist, and the child molester from creating more victims. You _have_ to hate this job to do it well, Dani. You have to hate it.”  
  
  
* * * * *  
  
Elliot knocked at Cragen’s door and walked in. “Captain, you got a minute?” He paused when he saw Dani.  
  
“Yeah. What do you and Fin have on the Carter case?”  
  
“It looks like the doer is the boyfriend, but he’s in the wind and the mother won’t give the creep up. ACS took the kids.”  
  
“Good work,” said Cragen. He stood up and put his hands in his pants pockets. “Now, fill your partner in on all your pending cases.”  
  
“My partner?” Elliot asked. He shared a look with his captain and then watched Dani as she moved past him and walked over to her desk. His eyes were wide with surprise as he followed in her wake.  
  
“Yeah, I’m back,” said Dani. “So you better watch yourself.” The two detectives looked at each other and grinned like idiots.  
  
“Hey.” Elliot put a hand on her shoulder, his thumb caressing her neck.  
  
“Hey, yourself.” Dani leaned into his touch for a moment and then moved away. She picked up the top file from the stack in his _in_ basket. “So,” she sat down and opened the file. “where are we on the Peters case?”  
  
Elliot narrowed his eyes. “Is that all you have to say? You’ve been gone for over a month.”  
  
Dani snapped the file shut and tossed it onto her desk. “Yeah, well, if I remember correctly, you weren’t too keen on keeping me around at the time.”  
  
“Dani … that’s not what I meant.”  
  
“Tell it to your wife.” She got up and stormed over to the bulletin board to catch up on current flyers.  
  
Elliot stood with his hands on his hips for minute, and then he stormed out of the squad room.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Detective Munch witnessed the exchange between Beck and Stabler with a sigh. He walked over to Fin at the coffee station and clapped a hand on the other detective’s shoulder. “D’Artagnan,” he said, “our mission is clear.”  
  
Fin took a sip of his coffee and then added more creamer. “What the hell are you talking about now?”  
  
“You know … God, King, and country … All for one, and one for all,” he paused at Fin’s blank stare. “The Three Musketeers?”  
  
“Oh yeah, that movie was tight!”  
  
“The book isn’t bad either,” Munch said, with a look over his glasses.  
  
“This better not be another one of your lame-ass lectures about me reading more books.” Fin warned, taking another sip of coffee.  
  
“No, it’s an observation about Dani and Elliot.” Munch poured hot water into a mug and selected a packet of his favorite tea. “Fin, we have to help get those two together.” He glanced over at Dani, still fuming at the bulletin board. “They generate enough sexual energy to light up Madison Square Garden.”  
  
Fin leaned in close to Munch and whispered, “You know there’s a rule against fucking your partner.”  
  
Munch sat his mug down to let the tea steep and looked over his glasses at Fin. “Is that why you haven’t made any moves on me?”  
  
Fin reared back with a smile. “Nah, you’re just not my type.”  
  
“I’m crushed,” said Munch. “Besides, I’m not so sure it’s just sex with those two.”  
  
Fin looked at him for a moment. “Don’t ask, don’t tell? Alright, I’m down with that.”  
  
“Good. You get to talk to Dani.”  
  
Fin grinned and poured another cup of coffee. “Admit it Munch, you’re afraid of her.”  
  
“It’s not Dani I’m afraid of, it’s the recurring vision I have of me wearing a dog collar and a leather loin cloth while calling her _Mistress_.”  
  
Fin shook his head, made his way over to Dani, and handed her a cup of coffee. “Hey! Welcome back, slugger," he said with a smile.  
  
Dani took an experimental sip from the cup and hummed in delight at the perfect mix of half-and-half and sugar. “Thanks. I hate to say it, but I missed you guys.”  
  
“Yeah, we missed you too." Fin leaned back against the wall. "It's a shame about your partner, isn't it? Having something like that bite you on the ass during the Holidays is just wrong.”  
  
Dani looked at him over her cup. “What are you talking about?”  
  
“Cragen didn’t tell you? Elliot signed his divorce papers last month and the final decree came down yesterday.”  
  
“What?” Dani’s breath caught in her throat.  
  
“Yeah. Kathy took the kids on vacation with her family, so El’s gonna be sitting in his apartment all alone.” Fin watched the play of emotions flicker across her face.  
  
“Shit!” Dani thrust her coffee cup at him. “Sorry, I gotta go!” She rushed over to Cragen’s office and then grabbed her coat and ran out of the squad room.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Elliot was on his second beer when someone started knocking at his door. He was in such a funk, he seriously considered ignoring the persistent noise. Driving up to 73rd and York through the deepening snow had been nearly as bad as passing all the bright Christmas displays. By the time he’d made it to his apartment building his nerves were frayed and his mood was in the toilet. The only thing worse would have been the drive out to Queens. He was so glad he didn’t have to make that daily trip any more. There were just too many memories … too many ghosts of the past to wade through.  
  
The building and small apartment he now resided in belonged to one of Cragen’s friends—an ex-cop who had made a small fortune in his second career. The property was a tax write off, so McCreary hadn’t seen the need to charge a cop with alimony and child support obligations the standard mid-town apartment rate.  
  
The persistent knocking changed to loud banging. Something hard was striking his door. He got up and stretched. The black wife beater he wore pulled taunt across his chest with his movement. He scratched his butt through his sweat pants and walked to the door with bare feet.  
  
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Who is it?”  
  
“It’s the freaking Christmas fairy. Open the door! This stuff’s heavy.”  
  
Elliot unbolted the door and stared at Dani as she collapsed her impact baton and slid it into her coat pocket. “You banged?” he growled. He gave her his most intimidating glare, with lowered brow and narrowed eyes.  
  
Dani laughed and pushed him to one side as she stumbled through the doorway with a huge basket.  
  
Elliot locked the door and turned to face her. “What’re you doing here?”  
  
Dani graced him with an impish look and a bright smile. “Bearing gifts,” she said. Then she staggered her way to the kitchen and lifted the basket onto the table with effort.  
  
Elliot followed her. “Listen, Dani … I’m not really up for company tonight.” Even as he said the words his mind screamed _Liar!_ His breathing increased just looking at her. She was such a striking contradiction—a tomboy with the face of an angel; an Amazon warrior with the heart of a nun.  
  
“Yeah, Fin told me about your divorce.” Dani ran a hand up and down his arm. “When I … when I saw you with your wife in the ER, I thought … well, never mind what I thought.”  
  
She tossed her coat towards the nearest chair and began unpacking her burden. “I made it to that Deli on 64th street just before they closed. I love that place. Thank God they still had one smoked turkey breast left. I got half a honey-baked ham, some potato salad, French bread, decorations,” she pulled the backing off of a red bow and stuck it on his forehead, “olives, sweet potatoes, green beans, some assorted fruit, Christmas music,” she ran into the living room and put on a CD, “and a couple of bottles of wine.”  
  
He plucked the bow from his head and watched as she put away the food, wanting nothing more than to stick his tongue down her throat. Action followed thought, and from one breath to the next he had her up against the wall with his mouth against her neck. He licked his way up to her cheek and looked into her eyes, melting inside from what he saw in them. A low desperate sound escaped her, answered by a deep growl in his chest as he sipped her breath and then sealed his mouth on hers.  
  
Each stroke of her tongue in his mouth felt like a stroke on his cock. He buried one hand in her hair and deepened their kiss. His other hand moved to her ass, pulling her into a grinding rhythm that brought more delicious noise from her as she had her first orgasm … he rode it with her. He broke the kiss and pulled his wife beater over his head. Her hands were electric heat as they moved in constant motion from his back to his neck and then his chest, teasing his nipples. Her mouth found the sweet spot beneath his left ear and she applied a suction that almost brought him to his knees.  
  
He lifted her up by her ass and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her into his bedroom where they collapsed upon the bed. Clothing flew in every direct during their desperate quest to touch as much of each other as possible.  
  
She moved on top of him, sliding her body against his, enjoying the exquisite feeling of skin against skin. She slid her wet mound along the length of his cock, rushing into her second orgasm as her clit made contact with the silky-steel column of flesh. The small nub seemed to vibrate … his touch bringing a sympathetic tone in her—a sustained note of sensation.  
  
Dani moaned his name as he pulled her up his body so that he could whisper _"protection?”_ urgently in her ear. She was so desperate to feel him inside of her that she almost missed the question. “No need. I … I can’t have children.” She ran her tongue up his neck to his ear. “Are you okay with that?”  
  
In answer Elliot flipped them and plunged into her, paralyzed with pleasure as her tight, wet sheath caressed his cock. He moaned against her neck and then made a feast of her breasts, moving from one to the other with hedonistic abandonment. In doing so, he discovered two of her sweet spots—her nipples. He hugged her body tight and pumped into her with hard, deep thrusts. She wrapped her legs around him and anchored herself as she ground up to meet him, thrust for thrust.  
  
Elliot felt his own orgasm approach as Dani reached her fourth. He sealed her mouth with a kiss and moaned his release. It seemed like an eternity, but finally the world around them penetrated their intimacy of labored breathing, sweat, and pounding blood.  
  
Elliot sighed; the sound a low, sated growl deep in his throat. The sensuous, primal timbre of it sent delicious tingles down Dani’s spine to her clitoris. He flipped them again and slid over to a dry portion of the bed and eased onto his side, pulling her back against his chest.  
  
Music floated in from the living room … _Have yourself a merry little Christmas, let your heart be light_ … Elliot moved aside some tresses of damp hair and nuzzled Dani’s neck. “I’ve never let go like that before," he said. "Did I hurt you?”  
  
Dani twined the fingers of her left hand with his. “No. It was a little rough, but I think we both needed it.” … _Make the Yule-tide gay, from now on, our troubles will be miles away_ … “In Denmark we’d make a Christmas wish on Christmas Eve." She said, caressing the sensitive pads between his fingers. "What’s your Christmas wish, Elliot?”  
  
… _Through the years we all will be together, if the Fates allow_ … Elliot hugged her possessively and snuggled closer. “I got everything I wanted, baby.”  
  
Dani suppressed a giggle at his smug, self-satisfied tone. She shifted until they were face to face. The look in his eyes was decidedly predatory. She answered his look with a sultry one of her own and felt his cock harden between them. ... _Hang a shining star upon the highest bough_ ... “I’m not sure I like your possessive attitude, Detective,” she teased.  
  
He gave her a slow, sexy smile. “You’ll get used to it.”  
  
… _And have yourself a merry little Christmas now._  
  
  
**The End**


End file.
